Improvement in methods and means of supplying street-lamps with oil



H. S. BBLDEN.

Patented Dec.`23,1s79.

ILPETERS. PHOTO-LITHUGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, D C.

Method and Means of Supplying Street-Lamps with Oil.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEErcE.

HENRY s. BELDEN, or" oANToN, oEIo.

IMPROVEMENT IN METHODS AND MEANS 0F SUPPLYING STREET-LAMPS WITH OIL.`

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 222,856, dated December 23, 1879 5 application led March l, 1878.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Beit known that I, HENRY S. BELDEN, of

Canton, in the county of Stark and State of Ohio,have invented certain newand useful Imscription of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to various improvements in the method and means of supplying with naphtha, gasoline,or other hydrocarbon oil the lamps or lanterns employed for illuminating streets, being the improvements in the method of filling and transporting detachable cans or reservoirs of said lamps, and in such improvements in said cans or reservoirs as to make them best adapted for carrying out the process.

Theordinary method of supplying with oil the burners employed in the lamps or lanterns for lighting the streets is substantially as follows f. A certain number of the lamps are put under the care of an operator, Whose duty it is to attend to filling the reservoirs and to lighting and extinguishing the burners. Generally, stationary cans or reservoirs permanently attached to the burners are employed, which the operator fills by pouring into them oil from cans which he carries with him from post to post, making an especial trip for this purpose. Owing to the long time required for this filling of reservoirs the trip to supply them must be taken during the day sometime, and another trip must be taken for the purpose of lighting the burners. By the repeated lillin gs and emptyin gs along the streets` oil is largely wasted, both from supplying and from` exposure to the air, the volatile hydrocarbons losing very largely from such an exposure. After these stationary or permanent cans have been thus filled they are submitted during the day to the heat of the sun, which, as is now known from experience, results in a large loss of the light oils byevaporation.

Another method of supplying the lamps with oil has been to provide them with detachable reservoirs, which could be removed from the lamps and carried to a storehouse for lling 5 but this process was subject, as hitherto practiced, to the same objection as the one last described-viz., the great loss of time, as it required an especial trip during the day for the removal of the cansfor illing and another trip for replacing the cans and lighting the burners. I

By either of the methods hitherto employed at least twice the time required by my im proved process and apparatus, to be hereinafter fully set forth, is consumed, and it is the object of my invention to avoid these objections, and to save the time and material ordinarily wasted in lling and lighting'.

l furnish each districtfwith the peculiarlyconstructed detachable cans or reservoirs, of a number greater than the lamps in said district, (preferably there are two removable cans for each lamp,) so as to avoid the necessity ofV making more than one trip during the day, and I provide each operator with the barrow or wagon, or other Avehicle suitable, and conf structed to carry safely any desired number of detachable cans in use.

I will now describe the apparatus which I have found best adapted for carrying out my system.

Figure .1 represents a vertical transverse section of the rack or case and employed in lling and transporting the detachable cans. Fig. 2 is a top-plan view of the rack. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of a vapor-burner streetlamp with my improved reservoir attached thereto. I

In the drawings, A represents the body of an ordinary street-lamp; B, the burner, and B a feed-pipe extending from the burner to the reservoir; but a detailed description of the said burner, feed-pipe buruer,or street-lamp will not be needed, as they form no part of the present invention, which relates to the method and apparatus for supplying the burner with oil. The feed-pipe B extends a short distance through the upper part of the street-lamp, and is screw-threaded at its upper end.

C represents a cup or receptacle, the bottom of which is somewhat conical in shape, and is provided with a screw-threaded socket, Cf, whereby it is attached to the feed-tube`B; This socket C extends. a short distance above the bottom of the cup C, forming a 'trap in which to catch water, dust, or other impurities that may nd access to the cup. These impurities may reach the cup through the removable reservoir, or may be driven in by the winds or rain when the detachable can is removed, or between the two vessels, even when the can is inserted in the cup.

D represents the removable can or reservoir, which in diameter is slightly less than the outer cup or receptacle, C, so as to be readily inserted therein. It is provided with an orifice, d, below the valve-seat, for the escapeof the oil. The top of this can is extended outwardly and downwardly so as to form a fiange, D', to project over the upper ed e of the cup C when the can is inserted, an prevent, as much as possible, the entrance of impurities into the outer cup. The can D has a screwthreaded neck, d', to which is fitted a screwthreaded cap, E, which has a fiaring portion, e, to prevent the access of impurities to the can.

E' represents a valve-rod constructed to extend from the exit-orifice in the bottom of the can to the cap, to which it is secured in any suitable manner, as by soldering, riveting, or by nuts. The lower end of this rod Eis beveled or so shaped as to make a perfectly tight valve.

F12 is a tube extending from the aperture d to, or nearly to, the neck d', and is employed to support the valve-rod E and to guide it to the valve-seat e2, formed at the bottom of tube E2.

FF represent small apertures drilled through the tube E2, to permit oil to pass from the can into said tube, and thence to the feed-pipe.

The rod E is of such length that when the cap E is firmly screwed to the neck d the bottom ofthe rod shall rest tightly upon the valveseat e2. It will be seen that with a valve-rod constructed and operated as described the stop-cock ordinarily employed with other constructions to control the iiow of oil between the reservoir and the burner may be dispensed with, and that a complete control of' said fiow of oil can be had through the removable can. The feed-pipe B may, if desired, be provided with the usual stop-cock to regulate the passage of oil; but it will not be found necessary under most circumstances. As the aperture F is situated at some distance from the bottom ofthe canD, it is manifest that there will be a space from which the liquid in the can cannot fiow through said aperture. This space is provided for the accommodation of the dirt, water, and other foreign matters, which, notwithstanding the greatest care 'used in preparing and manipulating burning-oils, are always found in them in greater or smaller quantities. In the construction shown any water, sediment, or impurities that maybe present in the oil will settle by gravity to the bottom of' the can, and remain in the depression or trap below orifices F F, formed around the lower end of tube E2, whence they may be removed after the oil has been consumed by turning the can upside down and allowing them to es cape through the neck d. Thus it will be seen that I provide a double security against the passage of foreign matters into the feed-pipe by furnishing theinner can with the trap, and also the receptacle C with a trap, which will arrest any impurities that might escape from the can.

G represents a rack constructed of sheet metal to hold any desired number of detachable cans during the operation of filling and transporting. VIt is lpreferably divided into compartments, each of sufficient size to hold and support one of the detachable cans. The compartments may be supported either by walls H or by rods, or by other suitable device. Vhen walls are employed I construct them with an opening, h, at the bottom, to permit communication between the various compartments. Each row of compartments is provided with supporting ribs or projections hf, attached to the bottom of the rack. These are designed to support the cans at a short distance above the bottom of rack G, so as to form a sediment-chamber below each can, in which impurities will settle and be prevented from entering the cans.

In Fig. 2 I have shown this rack G as constructed to hold twelve yof the reservoirs; but it is evident that it may contain a greater or less number of compartments, if desired. After the cans are inserted in their respective compartments they are held in place by means of trap-pieces I, hinged at c' at the upper side of' the rack, and passing over the tops of the cans, respectively. Each may be provided with a central collar 0r ring, fi', surrounding the neck of the can, so as to firmly hold the top of the can, and yet allow manipulation of' the cap E and valve-rod E. After the cans have been inserted they are filled at one operation by pouring oil into any one of the compartments in the rack G. The height to which the oil rises in cans may be known from its height in the rack.

H2 is an exit tube or pipe extending from the wall or rack, and provided with the stopcock B3, to permit or prevent the oils fiowing from the rack. Before the oil is poured into the rack, cap E from each can is unscrewed from neck d and the orifice d thereby opened, so that the oil can pass into the cans. After they have been filled the valve-rod is replaced in the seat e?, and the cap E again screwed upon the neck d, and the orifice d is tightly closed. The filled cans are now oil-tight and ready for transportation, and to be substituted for empty cans upon the lamps. After the cans have been filled the residue of oil in the rack is withdrawn through the tube H2. Outside the great saving of time that is thus effected by filling the large number of cans at one operation, it will be seen that a large part 222,856 p i, 3 l

of the Water, dirt, and other foreign matters contained in the oil-Will be prevented from entering the cans by filling them through the bottom while they are in an upright position supported in rack G. By filling the cans separately through the top such impurities would be passed directly into the cans; but by my improved process they are caught and retained in the bottom ofthe rack, whence they can be removed. The racks containing reservoirs of oil are stored in a cool and suitable place until the time arrives for lighting the lamps, when they are placed in a transportingvehicle and are taken by the operator upon his trip for lighting. While making this trip he removes in turn each empty can from its holding-cup and replaces it with a illed can from the rack. After completing the trip empty cans `that are thus gathered in the racks in large numbers are carried to acommon magazine or depot, where they are all filled again at one operation. Before exchanging the cans it will be found desirable to remove from the cups C any impurities that may be gathered in the trap therein, which may be conveniently done by means oi' a sponge. As this trap is located above the level of the burner, it will be seen that the contents of cup C will not (when reservoir D is removed) extend above the trap and interfere with readily cleansing it. The valve-rod E should be screwed tightly into the seat e2, so as to prevent the passage" of all foreign matter from the trap in the bottom of the can into the feed-tube and burner. After the filled tank is inserted into the cup or receptacle C, oil is permitted to flow to the burner by partially unscrewing the cap E from neck d', which lifts rod E' from seat e2, and allows air to enter the can above thev oil. When the oil appears at the burner it is ignited and the door of the lamp is closed, after which the operation of the burner can be regulated by the cap E and rod E.

` To one practically acquainted with the operation of street-lamps it will be evident that my improved method and apparatus possess Vmany advantages over those now employed.

A far greater number of lamps may be putunder the care of each operator, owing to the great saving of time in making the rounds for supplying the burners with oil. The oil supplied by the hereinbefore-described means will reach the burner clean and pure, having been subjected to several cleansing operations. The great superiority of the sediment and water trap in my detachable reservoir over the trap in a xed reservoir, or in any of the various parts of the lamp, will be readily understood, as the reservoir can be easily cleaned by removing and inverting it, and when many-of the cans have been gathered together they can all be thoroughly cleansed at one operation, thus saving much of the time consumed in sponging, wiping, 0r otherwise cleansing a number of fixed cans separately.

It will be further seen that my construction of reservoir, when used in combination with a street-lamp, operates in an essentially diiferent manner, and produces a result which is materially different from the function performed by a reservoir having a similar trap when used in combination with a portable lamp and rigidly attached to the other part of such lamp, because my improvement enables the operator to clean thereservoirs at the place of lling, which place` may be quite remote from the lamp, and at such time as shall be found most convenient, whereas if the reservoir were attached rigidly to the street-lamp it would necessitate cleaning each one separately, either at the time of lighting or during the trip made for that purpose, either of which would consume a great amount of valuable y time 3 and it is further apparent that a reservoir with a trap in the bottom open only at the top cannot be. cleaned by inversion when attached rigidly to a street-lamp.

I do not, in this application, claim a detachable reservoir for street-lamps provided at the bottom with a trap to receive impurities from the oil, and an opening at the top through which such impurities may be removed by inverting the can, inasmuch as I desire to make a separate application embodying this feature of invention, and other features which` I have shown in my improved reservoir, which application I propose to file at the earliest opportunity, for which reason I preferV to limit this patent to the specific features of construction embodied in the claims hereof, reserving the right to claim all other patentable matter in a subsequent application.

Having thus described my invention, whatr I claim as new, and desire to secure by'Letters Patent, is

1. The herein-described method or system of supplying street-lamps with oil, consisting in providing the lamps with removable reservoirs, of a number greater than the number of the lamps,'and providing also a conveyance adapted to transport filled reservoirs, and, by means of these devices, removing the empty reservoirs and replacing them with filled ones, substantially as set forth.

2. In an apparatus for supplying oil to street-lamps, the combination of an oil-tight tank provided with a detachable reservoir, having an opening in the tube through which air passes out, and an opening in the bottom through which oil enters from the tank, substantially as set forth.

3. In an apparatus for supplying oil to street-lamps, the combination, with one or more detachable reservoirs, provided with openings at top and bottom, of an oil-tight tank provided at the bottom with a receptacle below the reservoir-support, adapted to collect impurities from oil with which the reservoirsare filled, substantially as set forth.

4. In combination with the filling-tank G, hinged strap-piece I, as andl for the purpose set forth.

5. In combination with a lamp-burner, the xed cup C, with an open top, and provided With a trap for impurities above the level of the burner, substantially as set forth.

6. In combination with the air-inlet and the oil-inlet, the cap E and Valve rod Ef, rigidly attached to said eap,substantially as set forth.

7. ln a lamp, a reservoir having an aperture for the inlet of air, and another aperture for outlet of oil7 in combination with mechanism for opening and closing both apertures by the saine operation, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signa-ture in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY S. BELDEN.

Witnesses:

A. W. HLLDENBRAND, A; J UNDERHrLL. 

